Thread: "Room of stout construction"

Looking at converting a wardrobe and room in the shed into a room of stout construction for "A" category firearms.

Any body done it with ideas on the door and locks? Solid wood door with dead bolts and hinge pins but not sure about some anti pry protection. Both doors open outwards which makes it harder to have the anti pry protection.

Lining with 16mm ply inside room and wardrobe is pretty straight forward.

The latest guide for firearm storage seems to reference the room of stout construction in the with Endorsed firearms and there isn't a mention in the Hunting and shooting rifles section. Wondering if we would get away with a solid wood door without the the sheet metal covering?

Go to a kitchen factory and ask them to hoarde 'cover sheets' of 18mm MDF.

Should be a fraction of the price of ply mate, and plenty strong enough to stop an opportunistic thief or kid.

18mm MDF is bloody tough! Don't forget to line the ceiling as well. The lining needs to be screwed to the frame otherwise it can just be kicked free. The outward opening door is good but it needs two deadlocks about 400mm from the top and bottom. A 1.6mm steel sheet on the outside of the door, folded and screwed onto the edges is also preferable. I have built a couple of them over the years.

Was the steel sheet required if it was just for A cat firearms? Yes lining floor and ceiling to

Mdf is yuck. But gib over it and it looks perfect.
Or paint it.

Anyway, it is tough enough to satisfy the Stasi.

Anything stronger is a waste of time in my opinion, if the crims know what you have they will simply make you open it for them.

Originally Posted by Mick Hunter

Was the steel sheet required if it was just for A cat firearms? Yes lining floor and ceiling to

No steel required for A cat last time I checked.
It is only required to stop an opportunistic thief or a child obtaining access etc.

A mate made a Strongroom using ultra heavy mdf. He fitted sheets of flat tin sandwiched between the two panels. Concrete floor, double skinned plus tin including door with two deadlocks. Almost soundproof. I think his screechy wife may still be locked inside.

i have a smoke stop door on mine heavy as fuck solid rimu with a frosted glass panel with steel wire fused into it (lets in light but cant see in or smash thru.... i sold 2 more of them for $1 each on TM) the foundations of the building are poured concrete which come up around metre and a bit in height and 8 inches thick as are the wall cavities (give or take) steel bars over the windows in a manner that cant be levered off

Originally Posted by Mick Hunter

Was the steel sheet required if it was just for A cat firearms? Yes lining floor and ceiling to

No, not a legal requirement for A cat but inexpensive security.

An inward opening door is easier to pry and bash open- just bash a flat wreaking bar between frame and door and lean on it and a gap will gradually form, an outward opening just pushes door to the side edge unless one can get crow bar behind the door for leverage and has the whole door frame edge for bashing resistance . The weak point in an outward opening is the hinges. You can get security hinges with beefy unremovable pins and use two pairs instead of one pair, also mount a bit of flat steel at the ends of the hinges, inline, same protrusion as hinges.

A few thoughts.

Avoid getting burgled in the first place. No security is 100% but it also serves to slow down the burglar, they won't stay long if they have tripped a loud alarm, even if it is (probably?) unmonitored.

Two separate locks on the door separated by 1/3 of the door height is fair pry protection as a breaker would need to pry both points apart simultaneously.

A couple lever type deadlocks good, as pin tumblers are readily drilled or even picked with pick guns or bump keys -- not so with the older lever locks.

Latches, hinges, etc, throw out the 25mm long screws they often have and use 100mm long screws. It renders most inward opening doors unkickinnable.

And yes, pin and glue an MDF sheet to the face of the door. Cheap but sufficiently nasty.

Remember also, outward-opening doors have the advantage they are not readily kicked in, and they allow you to attach a "kick plate" that both covers the lock areas as well as preventing cutter access into the door/frame gap next to the locks.

Spot weld door hinge pins.

....and maybe keep your nicest guns in a secret, separate place.

Originally Posted by scotty

i have a smoke stop door on mine heavy as fuck solid rimu with a frosted glass panel with steel wire fused into it (lets in light but cant see in or smash thru.... i sold 2 more of them for $1 each on TM) the foundations of the building are poured concrete which come up around metre and a bit in height and 8 inches thick as are the wall cavities (give or take) steel bars over the windows in a manner that cant be levered off

That steel mesh prevents the glass splintering and falling in/out in a hot fire. It does not provide much extra security apart from burglars having to smash each area of the window separately to get a large enough opening. You could glue on clear plastic film on the inside of it though.

Originally Posted by Cordite

That steel mesh prevents the glass splintering and falling in/out in a hot fire. It does not provide much extra security apart from burglars having to smash each area of the window separately to get a large enough opening. You could glue on clear plastic film on the inside of it though.

the mesh is 1/2 inch squares..... so alot of smashing required to make a hole big enuff for some fat burgling bastard

Again, all the security in the world is useless if the crims know what you have. Don't advertise the fact, even on this forum.

Keep it simple. Keep it secret.

I wont say my final suggestion publicly. Friends and otherwise proven forum types can PM me if you really want to know.

Originally Posted by 40mm

Again, all the security in the world is useless if the crims know what you have. Don't advertise the fact, even on this forum.

Keep it simple. Keep it secret.

I wont say my final suggestion publicly. Friends and otherwise proven forum types can PM me if you really want to know.

All the security in the world is no defense against coercive theft. CF semi owners out there have experieNZed this..